Instructions for Three Levels of Reward and Creativity Test Scores of College Students

Abstract

118 junior college students were administered the Unusual Uses sub-test of the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking. Students from three intact classes received instructions indicating three levels of reward while a fourth group served as a control and was not given such instructions. The instructions included the offer of extra credit points toward their final grade in an introductory psychology course. The Unusual Uses test yielded scores of Fluency, Flexibility, and Originality for each subject. No significant differences were found between groups on any of the three creativity scores. An additional analysis yielded no significant sex or sex by treatment interactions. Conclusions concerning the possibility of these instructions eliciting stress or anxiety in the subjects were discussed along with supporting literature, due to an apparent trend toward depression of scores by the experimental groups. Implications of using reward instructions in school settings were also examined.